How to make your startup pitch “sizzle”

If only winning a pitch was as easy as snapping your fingers and passing the investors a pen to sign the deal. A winning pitch is what gets that contract, and a stellar presentation is what makes that pitch sizzle.

The “sizzle presentation” is your chance to captivate your audience. It is an immersive experience that will get the user hooked on what you’re offering. This is the time to amplify and bring your services to life–your blueprint can become an interactive model to get investors and customers excited and ready to commit.

Here are a few tried-and-true tips and techniques that will help you create a top-notch sizzle pitch.

It’s all about the brand.

Investors need proof that your brand’s value will hold through times of crisis because it is strong and effective. Your presentation is a reflection of you: it should fully showcase your outstanding brand. The tone you set will mark your business for all future interactions, so take care to represent your brand well.

Invest in creating original content.

You know a stock photo when you see it. Scheduling a real photo shoot is less expensive than you think. The results will be well worth the investment. You will be able to use your original content for a long time, confident in the fact that your audience is getting the authentic you. This will show investors that you are serious about generating top quality services that will allow you to compete with industry leaders.

Video is on the rise.

A sizzling pitch is not flat or passive. It includes engaging videos that speak for themselves, saving you time and the effort of convincing investors why they should choose you. To differentiate yourself and capture your audience’s attention, it’s crucial that you create original videos. You don’t have to break the bank to do so. Look for creative and budget-savvy ways to film and produce videos and motion graphics. You will be doing yourself a huge favor in building your brand’s equity as an industry leader who gets the market share with original content that will work overtime to establish your reputation.

Simplify your audience’s life as much as possible.

Make it extremely easy to say yes to what you are suggesting. Don’t make your deck convoluted with stats and facts that will make the investors’ brains hurt. You want them to leave energized and enthused about investing in your proposition. Simplicity in design and content should become your guiding star. Make it easy on them and yourself. Design a pitch that’s effective and concise. If you’re rambling on, your insecurity, lack of focus, and prep will show.

Dense content is your friend.

Straight up facts, no BS. How to make an effective and concise deck? It’s all about packing as much of a punch into as little as possible. Visuals are your friends. Use those info graphics, videos, 3D simulations and models to the max. Let them do the talking. Replace filler rhetoric with dense content. Investors will thank for that with favorable investments.

What’s in it for them?

Make the benefits painfully obvious and too alluring to pass by. Oftentimes we are too shy to straight go and ask for what we want. Beating around the bush, overcomplicating your pitch with fluff will only annoy your audience and waste the time you don’t have. Get straight to the point and make what’s in it for them loud and clear. You are a bold innovator, not a meek follower.